GOLDMAN: Will gay Virginians make it more expensive to get married?

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Paul Goldman is a local lawyer who helped run Doug Wilder's historic campaign for governor of Virginia.

GOLDMAN: Will gay Virginians make it more expensive to get married?

Paul Goldman is a local lawyer who helped run Doug Wilder's historic campaign for governor of Virginia.

RICHMOND, Va. – Don’t be surprised to see our politicians triple the marriage fee. There is soon going to be a lot bigger demand for a marriage license. They are likely to see a way to tax us more. So if you are thinking of getting married, do it quick before they hike the cost.

And since half of marriages end in divorce, you might want to pre-pay this fee since the politicians will be raising that one too.

Supply and demand right?

The federal judge in Norfolk didn’t merely strike down Virginia’s ban on same sex marriage. She gave elected officials a new group of citizens to tax.

Let me ask you, why exactly, is the government in the business of giving out marriage licenses, a ceremony rooted for centuries and centuries in religious law and conviction, not civil statutes administered by the local clerk of the circuit court?

Or put another way, why is government in this thing at all except to get folks to pay some money on the front side – getting married – and then on the back side – divorce – so the politicians have the money to hire more of their friends and supporters?

The vital and other records government may need to collect can be collected without requiring a marriage license. This is how it had been for thousands of years.

Marriage never needed any government help. Why do you need a government sanctioned piece of paper? No one in the Bible, in England for the longest time, or the folks landing at Jamestown needed it?

I have never understood why the government gets to decide who gets a marriage license except as to protecting individuals of certain age, health, mental, family status along with the children connected to that couple.

Marriage isn’t for everyone. But it’s not for the government to make that decision.

But social conservatives have for years insisted on everyone wanting to get married had to pay the government. I thought they were for limited government?

Now they too may have to pay a lot more.

Governor McAuliffe, Mayor Jones or former Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli ain’t got nothing to do with it in my book.

Jesus, Moses, never said I had to pay them or anyone else.

Why should some government official?

This fight over the marriage law is going to wind up changing no one’s mind but increase everyone’s costs.

As usual, the government can’t lose. Even if it screwed up passing an unconstitutional law, getting to charge us more money is their penalty!

Now ADD higher marriage fees and costs to death, taxes and the other stuff you can’t avoid in Virginia.

Paul Goldman is in no way affiliated with WTVR. His comments are his own, and do not reflect the views of WTVR or any related entity. Neither WTVR nor any of its employees or agents participated in any way with the preparation of Mr. Goldman’s comments.